Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford Tourneo Custom 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 77 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,581 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
77 in every 100
Did not pass first time
23 in every 100587 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 43,254 miles
First tests counted
2,581

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)14 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the front fog lights: 10 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 587 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Front fog lights

Failed on 24 first tests10 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Front fog lamps are only inspected on vehicles first used from a set date, and on those a lamp that is not working is graded Major. With a multiple light source, up to half not functioning is Minor and more than half is Major. Lamps that are not wired up and have no switch are not required to work, and testers give the benefit of the doubt if unsure they are connected.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 38 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 30 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 39 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 24 first tests119 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
77in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 77.3% of 2,581 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 23 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
40608010020182019202020212022Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 75 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201876 in every 100959
201981 in every 1001,748
202078 in every 1002,274
2021 This car77 in every 1002,581
202276 in every 1003,189

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2021 Tourneo Custom.

Of 2021 Tourneo Custom vehicles with under 22,000 miles, 82 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 81,000 miles or more, 71 in every 100 did.

Under 22,000504 tests
82
22,000–36,000530 tests
79
36,000–54,000 Typical car518 tests
82
54,000–81,000507 tests
73
81,000 and over522 tests
71

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 22,00036,000–54,00081,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)5.21.21.5

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

52in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

21in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 77.3% of 2,581 first MOTs on the 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.1%. Among 587 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Front fog lights appears more often than on similar cars (4.1% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (13.8%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Front fog lights (4.1% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Front fog lights shows up more often than on similar cars (4.1% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom include Front fog lights, Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Brake light (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 Ford Tourneo Custom (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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